- Date
- June 1, 2007, 11:15 local (18:15 UTC)
- Place
- Atwater, CA
- Injuries
- 1 uninjured
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Phase of flight
- Enroute
- Aircraft
- N86698Dutton Air Camper
- Weather
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Status
- Completed · report July 25, 2007
- Report
- Approved by Office Director
- Parties
- Federal Aviation Administration
- FAA report
- 20070601011799A
- Case key
- 65923
From the NTSB’s public API. By law, NTSB reports can’t be used as evidence in lawsuits over the accident.
On this page
Probable cause
a loss of power due to the failure of the number 2 connecting rod.
Sequence of events
NTSB’s coding before 2008: each occurrence and phase of flight, and the causes and factors under it. The codes are defined in NTSB’s coding manual.
Analysis
The airplane experienced a loss of engine power and nosed over in a field during the forced landing. The pilot reported that after flying for about 40 minutes he noticed the oil temperature gauge begin to rise. He had started looking for a suitable place to land when the oil temperature and engine temperature gauges both went beyond the red line. At 2,500 feet the engine made loud metallic clanking noises and began to shake violently. He shut the engine down and proceeded to make an emergency landing in a plowed field. The airplane nosed over during the ground roll. Examination of the antique Ford Model B engine revealed that the connecting rod for the number 2 piston failed. The time since last overhaul on the engine was 6 hours.
Factual narrative
The pilot reported that after flying for about 40 minutes he noticed the oil temperature gauge begin to rise. He started looking for a suitable place to land when the oil temperature and engine temperature gauges both went beyond the red line. At 2,500 feet the engine made loud metallic clanking noises and began shaking violently. He shut the engine down and continued to make an emergency landing in to a plowed field. Upon landing the airplane nosed over. Examination of the engine revealed that the connecting rod for the number 2 piston failed. The engine time since last overhaul was 6 hours.
Aircraft
- Registration
- N86698
- Reported as
- Dutton Air Camper
- Category
- Airplane, amateur-built
- Serial number
- DL1
- Airframe hours
- 122.5
- Engine
- Ford Model B, 60 horsepower, reciprocating
- Damage
- Substantial damage
- Flight
- Personal · Part 91
- Operator
- Lennert Von Clemm
- Registered owner
- California Antique Aricraft
- Airworthiness certificate
- Special, Experimental (Special)
- Last inspection
- Annual · April 1, 2007 · 6 hours before
- Departed
- KPDT · Hollister, CA
- Destination
- KMCE · Merced, CA
- Airport
- KMCE · McCready-Merced, CA
Matched to the registry by N-number and the event date; the registry’s history has gaps, so older matches can be wrong. Compare the reported make and model.
Flight crew
As NTSB recorded them. NTSB leaves out names.
- Role
- Pilot
- Age
- 73
- Certificate
- Airline transport
- Airplane ratings
- Single-engine land, Multi-engine land, Single-engine sea, Multi-engine sea
- Instrument ratings
- Airplane
- Medical
- Class 2
- Seat
- Rear
- Flight hours
- 24,000 total · 50 in this make and model · 120 in the last 90 days · 20 in the last 30 days
Weather
- Conditions
- Visual (VMC) · Day
- Visibility
- 10 statute miles
- Lowest ceiling
- None
- Temperature
- 79 °F
FAA reports on this event · 1
The FAA’s own accident and incident reports, matched to the aircraft by N-number and date.